MTEF 33

Chapter 33

When Ronin woke up the next morning, he blinked slowly.

‘I actually slept well for once…’

He had slept so deeply that he hadn’t even noticed the empty space beside him.

Still feeling dazed, Ronin tugged on the bell cord.

“You woke up later than usual today. Did something happen?”

Pam spoke with a knowing smile, but Ronin simply returned a faint smile, still absentminded.

‘I can’t believe I really slept in… Have I been that exhausted lately?’

Come to think of it, it made sense. He had rushed nonstop to the North, suffered from a fever, and even treated the maid who had fallen ill for another reason.

On top of that, he had spread the treatment for those suffering from the same disease and repaired the castle that desperately needed restoration. Living ten days’ worth of work in a single day had finally caught up to him.

‘Did Sir Leofric manage to get some sleep?’

The curiosity only lasted for a moment. There was another mountain of work waiting for him today.

“Pam, I’ll wear that coat today.”

“Ah… Yes! That’s an excellent choice.”

After finishing his preparations and putting on the coat, Ronin left his room.

When he descended to the first-floor hall, the people who had gathered in advance were already waiting.

Lady Wyndham, standing at the front, widened her eyes.

“Your Highness, that coat…”

“Oh, Sir Leofric gave it to me. It’s incredibly warm, so I decided to wear it again today.”

It was the coat Leofric had given him after accompanying him outside.

Made from the fur of a white fox, it was as pure as freshly fallen snow, and whenever the wind blew, the tips of its fur shimmered with a silvery glow.

The color perfectly matched Ronin’s hair, making him look like a masterpiece painted on canvas.

The gathered servants stared at him in complete fascination.

He truly looked like a living work of art.

Aware of their lingering gazes, Ronin began speaking.

“I sincerely thank all of you for your devoted efforts over the past few days. Without your hard work, this castle could never have remained so beautiful and sturdy.”

As he spoke, he gave them a small bow.

The servants hurriedly returned the gesture, completely flustered by the unexpected courtesy from the Grand Duchess.

Ronin Alistair’s unconventional behavior did not end there.

“As a token of my gratitude, I intend to pay the compensation I promised. Lady Wyndham and Conrad will assist me.”

Only then did the people notice Lady Wyndham and Conrad standing on either side of him.

“Now then, when your name is called, please step forward. Paul, Mars, Maren…”

Soon, names were called one by one, and everyone immediately received payment according to the work they had done.

They accepted the money, but none of them could quite believe it.

‘We only did what needed to be done… and they’re actually paying us? And this much?’

Until the money was placed in their hands, they had all harbored their doubts.

Not because they distrusted someone of such high status, but because circumstances could always change.

Besides, they had only been repairing the castle where they and their families already lived and worked. There had been nothing to lose.

‘I can’t believe we’re really getting paid…’

As those who had already received their money and those still waiting stood lost in their own thoughts…

“Um… Your Highness.”

Someone stopped before Ronin.

Blessed with keen eyesight and an even better memory, Ronin recognized him immediately.

“Robert?”

He was the man who had received the silver coins on behalf of everyone before.

Is something wrong?

Ronin asked with quiet concern.

“Is there a problem? If you still haven’t received your silver—”

“N-No! Not at all! I received mine first. It’s just…”

Robert hesitated before squeezing his eyes shut and forcing himself to speak.

“Margaret, the maid who cleans Your Highness’s room, is actually my childhood friend. That’s how I found out you didn’t eat the wild raspberries I gave you last time.”

Ronin still couldn’t understand where this conversation was leading, but he patiently listened.

“I didn’t know before, but apparently nobles don’t usually eat wild raspberries fresh like we do… So… I made them into jam instead. I don’t know if it’ll suit your taste…”

As he spoke, he awkwardly held something out.

Ronin accepted it without thinking and slowly examined it.

Meanwhile, Robert hurriedly added,

“Ah! Please don’t misunderstand! Margaret’s very good at keeping secrets. I just kept pestering her for days because I wanted to repay Your Highness somehow!”

Inside Robert’s hands had been a small glass jar filled with bright crimson raspberry jam.

After staring at it for a long moment, Ronin quietly asked,

“You wanted to repay me?”

“Of course! If it weren’t for Your Highness, I wouldn’t even be alive today.”

“What do you mean?”

“Several years ago… my wife died, leaving behind our newborn son and me. It was because of the local disease.

I worked as hard as I could to raise the child she left me… but heaven showed no mercy.

My son caught the very same disease.”

Robert’s face darkened.

Even recalling the past seemed unbearably painful.

“What could an uneducated man with nothing like me possibly do?

All I could do was pray.

But my son’s condition kept getting worse every day.

I thought… So this is it. I’m going to lose my son too. I can’t endure this anymore. Maybe I should just die…

And then… Your Highness appeared.

With the cause of the disease… and its cure.”

When Robert raised his head again, the darkness had vanished from his face.

He continued speaking with the reverence of a believer who had witnessed a miracle.

“That alone would have been enough to earn my gratitude.

But Your Highness even paid us under the pretense of renovating the castle.

You also provided us with good food.

Thanks to that… my son recovered from his illness.”

“……”

“The little boy who used to gasp for breath while calling, ‘Daddy… Daddy…’

This morning he ran up to me asking me to buy him a rubber ball…

…Hk.”

Before he realized it, tears had welled up in Robert’s eyes.

He paused, struggling to steady his emotions.

Once he had finally calmed himself, he smiled brightly.

“That’s why I absolutely had to thank you.

I wanted to give you the best thing I could make with these humble hands.”

There was no mistaking what that humble creation was.

Ronin lowered his gaze to the glass jar in his hands.

Somehow…

It felt much heavier than before.

This was no ordinary jar of raspberry jam.

It was the price of a child’s life.

It was the hope of an ordinary man.

And it was also the result of the silver coins Ronin had distributed after careful calculation.

“……”

He could have been pleased.

If everything had gone according to his original objective, this should have been the moment to feel satisfied.

*’I’ve firmly established myself in the North now.

From this point on, no one will openly reject me simply because I’m an Alistair.’*

Robert’s heartfelt speech, delivered before all the servants, had given him an even greater return than he had expected from a single act of generosity.

That was how he should have looked at it.

*’But… how?

How am I supposed to ignore the weight of this?’*

That weight was the price of buying people’s hearts with a handful of silver.

It was also the consequence of deceiving kind, innocent people.

This was exactly the outcome he had wanted.

Yet now that it had come true…

He could barely breathe.

Even the word weight felt too light to describe it.

It was simply too much to bear.

If he allowed himself to rejoice now, he felt as though he would finally have to admit what a despicable person he truly was.

No…

The truth was that he had already known.

*’Did you really not know this would happen?

No, that’s a lie.

Ronin Alistair…

Be honest with yourself.’*

He couldn’t even remember how he had made it back to his room.

Yet somehow, amidst the haze, he had brought the raspberry jam with him.

‘What am I supposed to do with this…?’

As he sat there wondering what to do with the jar, Pam spoke up.

“Should I throw this jam away?

You don’t really like sour things anyway.”

Ronin didn’t answer.

It was as though he hadn’t heard her at all.

He simply continued staring silently at the jar.

*’What’s gotten into him? It’s only raspberry jam.

Well… if he’s not going to eat it, that’s good news for me.’*

Nobles preferred raspberry jam because they disliked the fruit’s tartness.

But for someone who struggled every day just to put food on the table, anything edible was a luxury.

Pam casually picked up the jar.

Ever since childhood, Ronin’s extreme weight control had robbed him of any appetite or craving for food.

Naturally, she assumed he would simply let her have it.

Just as she was about to leave…

“…No.

Please leave it here.”

His voice was so quiet that she almost failed to hear it.

Only after a moment did Pam realize he had answered her question.

‘That’s unusual… He doesn’t even like sour food.’

Though she grumbled under her breath, she returned the jar to its original place.

As sunlight streamed through the window, the raspberry jam glowed with a translucent crimson brilliance through the glass.

Ronin continued staring at the jar for a long, long time.

Until the exhausted Pam left…

And until Caelion returned after finishing the day’s work.